Add a page 1 of 12 header or footer to a PDF

Why “page X of Y”?

A plain “3” says where you are. “3 of 12” also says how many there should be, so whoever receives a contract, a fax or a court filing can see at once that nothing is missing, and so can you when the printer jams halfway. That is why contracts, tenders and many official forms ask for it. Put it where the recipient asks; if they do not say, a top or bottom corner keeps it clear of the text.

Add “Page 3 of 12”, step by step

We use a 12-page lease.

1. Drop the PDF on Add page numbers above. Several files work too; each gets its own total.
2. Where: Top right (or any of the 6 spots).
3. Format: Page 1 of 12, or 1 of 12 for the short form.
4. First number: leave it at 1.
5. Leave Cover page on numbered, unless page 1 is a cover (see below).
6. Press Add numbers and download lease-numbered.pdf.

Page 1 reads “Page 1 of 12”, page 3 “Page 3 of 12”, page 12 “Page 12 of 12”. The numbers are real text in Helvetica, so they can be selected and searched, and they sit the right way up on landscape pages too.

How is the total counted?

The total is the last number the tool prints, which is the page count only when counting starts at 1 on page 1. We tested every combination on the 12-page lease:

So for a document with a cover that should still count, use the second row: the cover stays bare and every other page shows its true place out of 12. The last row is for a file that continues another one (a second volume starting at page 5); “of 16” is then the last page of the whole set, which is what such a file should say. The guide to numbering that skips the cover covers the cover cases in more detail.

Text and the count on 1 line

The Header and Footer boxes take your own text, with 4 placeholders filled in on each page:

• {page}: this page’s number
• {pages}: the total, counted as in the table above
• {date}: today’s date where you are, as 2026-10-11
• {file}: the file’s name, such as lease.pdf

For “Lease agreement, page 3 of 12” as 1 line:

1. Set Where to No numbers, so the count is not printed twice.
2. In Header, type Lease agreement, page {page} of {pages}.
3. Press Add numbers.

The header sits at the top centre and the footer at the bottom centre. If you keep numbers at the top as well, the header moves 1 line down so the 2 do not collide; a footer moves 1 line up when the numbers are at the bottom. A footer such as {file}, {date} next to “Page 3 of 12” in the corner is a common pair for drafts.

Headers and footers use a standard PDF font, so stick to plain Latin letters there: a header with ł, ř or Č is refused with a message instead of printing gaps. Text in those letters goes in with the editor, which embeds a font. Something that should cross the whole page, like DRAFT, is a job for Watermark PDF, not a header.

After the file changes: stamp last

The numbers are printed on the pages once. Delete 2 pages from a stamped 12-page file and the remaining pages still say “of 12”, with gaps in the sequence. Add pages and they have no number at all. So:

1. Finish the page order first: merge, delete, reorder, rotate.
2. Stamp the numbers as the very last step.
3. Keep the unnumbered file. If the document changes, make the change on that copy and stamp again.

Stamping a file that already has numbers puts the new ones on top of the old, and both show. Taking old numbers off means removing them as text objects in the editor, page by page, which is why the unnumbered copy is worth keeping.

What this cannot do

A stamped “Page 3 of 12” is text drawn on the page, not a field that counts. It will not recount when the file changes, as above. If you need numbering that follows every edit, number in the program that made the document (a word processor’s page fields do recount) and export a new PDF.

It also does not number by section (1 of 4 in chapter 1, then 1 of 6 in chapter 2) in 1 pass, it has no Roman numerals, and it draws over whatever is in that corner without making room. Try your settings on 2 pages first if the pages have a printed footer. Each file is numbered on your device, so there is no upload and no page cap: our 500-page test file took under a second. For other page jobs, see the guide to organising PDF pages.